Airlink, southern Africa’s largest independent regional airline, is adding 11 Embraer ERJ 140 jets to its fleet. This will bring the number of Embraer regional jets the airline operates to 30. The airline has also extended its existing Flight Hour Pool Program contract for another eight years and expanded it to include the ERJ 140s. The Pool Program covers more than 350 different components for Airlink’s 30 ERJ aircraft and delivers support to the airline 24/7.
“Airlink is a successful and rapidly growing business. The addition of a further 11 ERJ aircraft is a major vote of confidence in the platform’s capability, as well as in its suitability for the expanding African market. The decision to extend the existing Pool contract is a clear demonstration that the program delivers what customers need – aircraft availability and competitive operating costs”, said Simon Newitt, Vice President, Africa, Latin America & Portugal, Embraer Commercial Aviation.
Rodger Foster, CEO of Airlink, said, “The Embraer Pool Program is the most complete solution available to support our growing fleet of Embraer regional jets. It’s a low investment model that delivers a high return in availability and costs, giving us the flexibility we need as we continue to grow. Our partnership with Embraer is a key enabler of our strategy, and allows us to concentrate on our core business.”
Embraer has been present in the African continent since 1978, when the first Bandeirante turboprop entered operation. Currently, there are 127 Embraer aircraft in operation with 39 airlines in 19 African countries, performing a vital role in connectivity.
The Pool Program, which is currently supporting more than 50% of ERJ customers worldwide, is designed to minimize airlines’ up-front investment in high-value repairable inventories and resources, while taking advantage of Embraer’s technical expertise and its vast component service provider network. The results are significant savings on repair and inventory costs, and a reduction in warehousing space requirements that virtually eliminates the need for repair management resources, and ultimately, delivering guaranteed performance levels.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets with up to 130+ seats. The Company has 100 customers from all over the world operating the ERJ and the E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,700 orders and over 1,200 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft by operating across a range of business applications.